Reds stop Padres rallies for 6-5 win

San Diego Padres' Cameron Maybin is airborne as he beats the throw home to Cincinnati Reds catcher Devin Mesoraco while scoring in the fifth inning of a baseball game, Saturday, July 7, 2012, in San Diego. Maybin scored on a single by Logan Forsythe. (AP Photo/Lenny Ignelzi)
— AP

San Diego Padres' Cameron Maybin is airborne as he beats the throw home to Cincinnati Reds catcher Devin Mesoraco while scoring in the fifth inning of a baseball game, Saturday, July 7, 2012, in San Diego. Maybin scored on a single by Logan Forsythe. (AP Photo/Lenny Ignelzi)
/ AP

Chris Heisey hit a two-run homer off Clayton Richard in the seventh inning Saturday night to break a 3-3 tie and lead the Cincinnati Reds to a 6-5 victory over the Padres before 34,222 at Petco Park.

The homer was the fifth hit by the Reds over the last two nights and the second off Richard on Saturday night. Richard has given up 16 homers in 17 starts, tied for the sixth-most in the National League.

The teams exchanged first-inning homers. After the Reds took a 3-1 lead in the top of the fifth, the Padres again tied the game with single runs in the fifth and sixth.

But after third baseman Todd Frazier opened the seventh inning with a single to left, Heisey hit his third homer of the season over the entrance gate to the Padres bullpen in center.

However, the key run was the one the Reds scored after Heisey’s homer. Singles by catcher Devin Mesoraco (off Richard) and rookie shortstop Zack Cowart (off reliever Dale Thayer) resulted in the Reds’ final run when the Padres were unable to turn a double play on a Drew Stubbs grounder to short.

"The big blow was Heisey's homer," said Padres manager Bud Black. "Clayton got ambushed. They were swinging early (in the counts) tonight and connected on a couple."

The Padres scored single runs in the seventh and eighth and had the bases loaded in the eighth when Chris Denorfia lined out to end the inning.

The Padres had six hits in the two innings, including run-scoring singles by Alexi Amarista and Logan Forsythe, who had the first three-hit game of his career. But they also stranded five runners in the two innings, including three in scoring position.

"We were one hit away and couldn't get the extra hit," said Black. "We played hard, we fought back. We were right there and couldn't get that hit to push us over the top."

Reds’ All-Star reliever Aroldis Chapman, who struck out Amarista, Chase Headley and Carlos Quentin on triple-digit fastballs, retired the Padres in order in the ninth to pick up his 10th save.

"It's real velocity," said Black of Chapman, who has a 1.88 ERA this season with 69 strikeouts in 38 1/3 innings after striking out the only three Padres he's faced.

"When you are throwing 100 (mph) with deception and a late release, it's hard to pick the ball up. It's tough."

The loss was the Padres’ second straight following a season-best, six-game winning streak. And eight of the Reds 12 runs over the past two nights came via the homer.

Cozart opened Friday’s game with a homer and catcher Ryan Hanigan and Frazier later added two-run homers in the Reds’ 6-0 win. On Saturday, Stubbs homered off Richard with one out in the first.

Denorfia immediately pulled the Padres even by sending Homer Bailey’s first pitch of the game 419 feet into the seats in right-center. The homer was Denorfia’s third of the season and the third game-opening homer of his career, as well as the Padres’ third this season.

Richard, who was 4-1 with a 1.70 earned run average over his last five starts, retired 11 straight Reds when Frazier opened the fifth with a double, his slide into second barely beating Denorfia’s throw from right-center.

After Heisey singled, Frazier scored on Mesoraco’s groundout to Forsythe. Heisey scored when Bailey, who was hitting .118, lined a double over Denorfia’s head in right.

The Padres tied the game on a pair of unearned runs.

Forsythe singled home Cameron Maybin in the fifth after the center fielder singled and reached second on Bailey’s errant pickoff throw to first.

The Padres tied the game in the sixth when Quentin ended an 0-for-20 drought with an RBI single. The hit scored Chase Headley, who had reached second when Jay Bruce dropped his drive to right for a two-base error.

Richard allowed six runs on eight hits in six-plus innings — his worst outing since April 18. He had gone 5-3 with a 2.58 ERA over his previous 10 starts with the Padres going 6-4.